Practice makes perfect

Matendla students G. Shobha and D. Renuka were among the RDF students chosen for an English program

B. Marasa grew up speaking Telugu, a language she shares with her parents, her village and her classmates at Kalleda Rural School.

But she spent four weeks this summer practicing English, hoping the skill will secure her future.

“It is a global language,” she said.

That sentiment was shared among the 20 RDF students from Kalleda, Matendla and the Junior College who were chosen to attend a spoken English course sponsored by GE Volunteers. It is the fourth year RDF students have participated in the program.

The students, mostly children of rice, cotton and pepper farmers, hope their improved English will boost their career prospects. Many want to work in call centers; others plan to enroll at universities to study medicine, engineering and politics.

At the end of the four-week program, students were recognized during a graduation ceremony

The program was held at GE’s offices in Hyderabad’s Hi-tech neighborhood. Students said Andhra Pradesh’s capital was vastly different than their village homes, where there’s little pollution and traffic is caused by the occasional herd of passing goats and cows, not endless streams of honking autos and motorcycles. But they said they enjoyed their stay and the field trips to the public gardens, Birla temple and the Imax movie theater.

But most of their energy was spent perfecting their spoken English. Students said they especially focused on areas like contradictions, intonation and tenses.